Mail-box money-holder.



E. CLAY.

MAIL BOX MONEY HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 1912.

1,089,327, Patented Mar. 3, 1914. Y

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ERNEST CLAY, OF HOLIDREGE, NEBRASKA.

MAIL-BOX MONEY-HOLDER.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 11, 1912.

Patented Mar. 3, little.

Serial at. 719,826.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Ennns'r CLAY, a citizen of the United States. residing at Holdrege, in the county of Phelps and State of Nebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Box Money-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail box money holders, the object inview being to provide a simple device of the class described, which may be manufactured at a minimum expense and applied to any mail box, so as to receive and hold change necessary to pay postage; said change to be collected by the postman at the time he collects the mail.

With the above and other objects in view,

7 the invention consists in the construction,

combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereunto appended.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing the device applied to a mail box. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the holder. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the main body of the holder is formed. Fig. 4: is a plan view of the shutter blank. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the spring catch. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the signal,

The holder contemplated in this invention comprises a cylindrical body 1, attaching flanges 2 extending tangentially in opposite directions from the rear side thereof, a bottom shutter 3 hinged to the money holder, and a spring catch 4- secured to the cylindrical body of the holder, and provided with a shoulder 5 adapted to snap under the shutter and hold the same in close relation to the bottom of the receptacle. The device also comprises a signal 6 shaped to resemble a flag and pivot-ally connected, at 7, to the front side of the holder, so that it may be drawn to a vertical or horizontal position to indicate Whether the holder is empty or contains money.

The main body of the device is formed of a single sheet metal blank, shown at S in Fig. 3, said blank having a width equal to the height of the cylindrical body, and a length equal to the circumference of the cylindrical body and the flanges by means of which the device is attached to a mail box, as shown in Fig. 1. This blank, shown in Fig. 3, is provided with slits 9 and 10 extending inward from the opposite longitudinal edges thereof, so that when the blank is rolled into cylindrical form, the end portions of the blank may be made to intersect through the slits 9 and 10, the end portions beyond said slits forming the attaching ears hereinabove referred to. In addition, the blank embodies the laterally projecting tabs 11 which are rolled into the form of sleeves to form knuckles 12 to re ceive the hinge pin 13, by means of which the shutter is connected to the holder. The shutter shown in detail in Fig. 1 is also provided with a rearwardly extending tab 14: which is rolled to form a complemental hinge knuckle 15 which is interposed between the knuckles on the attaching flanges to receive the same hinge pin 18. At its opposite side, the shutter is cut away or pro vided with a notch 16 to receive the spring catch 4 above described.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the main body of the device, including the cylindrical holder and the attaching flanges, is formed in one piece from a single sheet metal blank, thereby economizing materially in the cost of production and manufacture of the device. In fact, the entire device, with the exception of the hinge pin, is formed of sheet metal.

That is claimed is:

A money holder attachment for mail boxes, comprising a cylindrical receptacle open at the top and bottom, a hinged shut-- ter for closing the bottom of said receptacle, a spring catch on the receptacle for holding the shutter closed, and attaching flanges for fastening the holder to a mail box, the receptacle attaching flanges being formed of a one piece sheet metal blank provided with slits extending inwardly from the opposite edges thereof in spaced relation to each other, the portion of the blank be- Q In testimony whereof I afiix my signature tXFGBH ihe slits bleitIllg rollecltinto 1the iorm in presence of two Witnesses.

o i a. cy inner, anc 1e 0 os1 e enc 301' 1OI1S l v of the blank being cross 2 a so as to intersect ERNEST in line with said slits leaving the portions Witnesses:

beyond the slits extending in opposite direc- OSCAR A. SWANSON, tions in a common plane. SIDNEY PIERCE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. C. 

